Monkeypox reaches the Philippines.. A case was recorded in a person who had not traveled recently

Arab Weather - The Philippines announced, today, Monday, the recording of the first case of monkeypox infection since the beginning of the year, indicating that the authorities are studying whether the infection with the "1B" strain is highly dangerous.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, the infected person is a 33-year-old man who has not traveled abroad recently. Authorities are awaiting the results of genetic sequencing of the virus to determine whether the infection is related to the "1B" strain, which is highly contagious and associated with higher mortality rates compared to the "2B" strain, which spread in 2022 and 2023 and caused about 140 deaths out of about 90,000 cases.

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Symptoms and history of infection in the Philippines

The patient developed symptoms more than a week ago, starting with a fever followed four days later by a rash on the face, back, neck, chest, groin, palms of hands and soles of feet. The last case of monkeypox in the Philippines was recorded in December 2023.

• Monkeypox as an international health emergency

The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox an international health emergency, its highest level of alert, due to the spread of the "1B" strain in Africa, which has caused the deaths of hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and has recently been detected in Sweden and Pakistan.

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